Death crash cyclist was twice drink-drive limit
A woman who was killed when her bicycle was hit by a car would have been "drastically affected" by drink.
Svetlana Stoiko (45) died of spinal fractures after being hit by a Rover 414 driven by Alec Bridgewood as she cycled along Little London, Spalding, just after midnight on June 30.
She was due to fly to her home country Latvia later that day to see her daughter get married.
A toxicology test found Miss Stoiko, of Chiltern Drive, Spalding, had 178 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
The legal limit is 80.
An inquest in Spalding on Friday heard that the amount of alcohol she drank would have affected her balance.
Collision investigator Pc Mark Brown said: "Her balance and co-ordination would be drastically affected by the alcohol she consumed.
"She was wearing non-reflective clothing and had no lights on the bike. There was very little street lighting and with no moon it would have made her very difficult to see.
"If Mr Bridgewood's lights had been on full beam then he would have seen her but he was in a built up area and about to enter a 30mph limit so there was no reason why we should have had them on full beam."
Miss Stoiko's fiance Martin Woodrow, also of Chiltern Drive, said he last saw Miss Stoiko at 8pm on June 29, when she had gone next door where she rented a room to say goodbye to housemates.
One of them, Elmars Grinberg, said Miss Stoiko had some drinks, including champagne, before she left at 11pm, taking a bicycle lent to her by Mr Woodrow.
Mr Woodrow said he never found out where she went that night but suspected she had gone to see her ex-boyfriend Rimantas Rimgaila, whom she split up with in April.
Mr Rimgaila said he did not see or talk to her on that night.
Coroner Maureen Taylor recorded a verdict of accidental death.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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